ROCKINGHAMCOUNTY 
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(603) 679-561 6 
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extension.unh.edu 
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Education Center 
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877-398-4769 (Toll Free) 
UNH Cooperative 
Extension State Office 
862-1520 
February 6,2009 
Easements Programs Division 
Wetlands Reserve Program 
Conu~lcnts, P.O. 2890 
Room 68194 
Washington, DC 20013 
Docket # NRCS-IFR-08013 
Dear Sirs: 
UNIVERSITY of NEW HAMPSHIRE 
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION 
i RECEIVED FEB 1.0 
My work involvcs helping private landowners, conservation organizations, comnlnnities and other 
groups conservc land. As such I have a great deal of contact and interaction with agcncies such as 
NRCS and the various federal programs thcy administer that provide funding for land conservation 
including WRP and FRPP. This note is inrcsponse to thc opportunity to provide written comment to 
the WRP Rulcs. 
e Template Conservation Easen~cnt - To date the program has functioned with a "one size fits 
all" conswvation easement coupled with stand alonc Compatible Use Agreements between 
the landowner and NRCS. This is a troublesome arrangement at best and no doubt will 
present legal challenges that may well threaten the long term viability of easements 
con~pleted under WRP. I urge NRCS to allow cach rcgion or, better yet, each state to 
dcvclop template WRP conservation easements writtenby a tcam madc up of NRCS staff, 
Statc Tcchical Committees and private conservation organizations. WRP tcnlplate 
easements should incorporate all Compatible Uses that will be allowed by each NRCS Statc 
Director. Modifications to the template can be made to reflect property uniqueness and 
landowner interests. 
7 Year Ownership Rcquircmcnt - This ncw mle will reduce enrollment in WRP radically in 
New Hampshire and many other states. Many of the Iandowncrs wc dcal with have recently 
inherited or purchascd thcir propcrty. This is because we are in a rapidly growmg reglon and 
because of thc long prcdictcd gcncrational transfer due to our aging landowner basc. I would 
urgc you to restore this and all programs to thc formcr rulc which rcquired ownership to be at 
least onc ycar. 
0 Town Propcrty Exclusion - The new rule excludes towns and cities from enrolling in WRP 
and numerous othcr USDA programs. This rule change will negatively impact cnrollnlcnt in 
much of Ncw England and will exclude an exciting and rapidly growing scgmcnt of 
landownership. In virtually cvcry New England state, communities have taken great steps to 
idcntify and ultinlately purchasc kcy parccls with significant natural resource features. New 
Hampshire communities alone havc invcstcd $143 n~illion over the last 7 years in conserving 
land. Much of this invcstnlent has been in fee acquisitions. Usc of WRP funding to 
pcrn~anently conserve community owned properties provides long tern conservation and 
helps leveragc funding derived by resident taxpayers. 
SinccreIy, 
Phil A u m